The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for database searching, and in particular to database searches in which the user is highly likely to provide input containing errors.
Most database engines assume that the user will provide correct input. That assumption has a number of results, starting with the general tendency to demand input in a number of separate fields. Then, search engines most often look only for exact matches to the user input.
One can see this problem in operation at the popular consumer website operated by Amazon.com, at http://www.amazon.com. A person entering that site to purchase, for example, a recording of a Johann Sebastian Bach cantata must first locate an appropriate recording, which begins by selecting a category in which to search. A consumer who knows how the name is pronounced, but unfamiliar with German spelling conventions could easily enter the name as, say, “Johan Bock”. The search engine, unfortunately, cannot cope with that sort of mistake—it returns zero hits. An American consumer could flail around for some time before coming up with “Bach” as the correct spelling, but the search engine will obstinately refuse to return hits until the entry is correct.
Simple typing errors have the same consequence. A user seeking Britney Spears recordings at Amazon.com, but entering “britny” in the search window, will see pages of listings for Britny Fox but not a single hit for Miss Spears. A slip with her last name, entering “spers” for example, returns no hits at all. Users can quickly become frustrated with such results.
Clearly, any consumer-oriented e-commerce website that could offer automatic help to a consumer in these situations will attract numbers of adherents. In a business context, where user frustration is measured in lost productivity, tools that speed searching would be highly sought after.